Little Moments
by Japyra
Summary: Little Moments... that make them human. A series of scenes between the four members of Team Seven. Ch 5: Happiness is found in that time of Tomatoes, Ramen, and Perverted Orange Books.
1. A Starcrossed Destiny

Little Moments: A Team Seven Drabble Collection by Japyra

Dislcaimer: All canon characters and/or recognizable material are not mine. If I owned Naruto, would I be writing fanfiction or the next episode/chapter?

Summary: Little Moments…that make them human. A series of inner scenes between the four members of Team Seven. Pairings vary on my mood, so forewarning.

"Ideals are like stars: you will not succeed in touching them with your hands, but like the seafaring man on the ocean desert of waters, you choose them as your guides, and following them, you reach your destiny."-Carl Schurz

Their mission had been long and hard in the way that genin—children—are unable to cope with even with their extensive energy levels. It had been dirty and gray and terribly sad. As a result, their trek home had been tailored by Naruto declaring a break and hurling himself on the ground. Silently agreeing, his teammates followed suit against their sensei's half-hearted reprimands.

Somehow during the night Sakura had ended up using the blond as a cushion and Sasuke had moved within arms-length of the pair while Kakashi used a match to read while sitting in a tree.

The stars hovered above them tantalizingly, and he reached his orange-clad arm out, pretending to grab one. "Look Sakura-chan, I have a star for you!"

In spite of herself, the girl giggled at his excitement.

"Dobe," Sasuke commented, smirking in the darkness.

Naruto growled. "Teme, you're just jealous because Sakura-chan is using me as a pillow and not you!"

"Idiot, you practically jumped her."

"Did not! She wanted to! Right, Sakura-chan!"

Not wanted to endure their bickering, she let out an exasperated sigh and pointed to the heavens. "Do you guys know what stars are?"

"Eh? You know what the stars are?! You're the best, Sakura-chan!"

The pink-haired girl rolled her eyes in exasperation and tried to stifle her smile.

"Someone" His voice was so soft that anywhere else and they wouldn't have caught it. Not gentile and warm; but a brittle whisper in the starlit night. "...once told me that our fate is written within the stars."

Naruto blinked, surprised by this bit of volunteered information from the reserved shinobi. "Our… fates?" He looked up at the sky.

She gazed at the stars, and suddenly felt a tight clenching in her stomach. _So many… so little… _

Suddenly, her human pillow shifted and she yelped in surprise as she caught herself with her forearms. Angrily, she rounded on the boy. "Naruto, what the—" The words dried in her mouth.

He was standing, a boy-man with untamed golden hair wavering slightly in the chilled wind and infinite blue eyes catching the moonlight as he stared defiantly back at the celestials.

"Well, screw that!" He shook his fist. "I'm writing my own destiny!"

"Dobe, you can't control fate." The Uchiha muttered darkly.

The Kyuubi struck the ground with his foot. "Shut up Teme! I'm going to rewrite the stars into the ending I want! Just you watch!" He whirled back around, as if challenging the stars themselves to contradict him. "I'm not going to submit to any fate or destiny shit."

And standing there, silhouetted by silver and simply overfilling with light; she believed him.

"And what are you going to do?" Sakura whispered, a smile forming on her lips. "Become Hokage?"

He grinned at her. "Of course! But that's not all!"

She looked bemusedly at him. "And what else is the great Uzumaki Naruto going to do?"

Sasuke gave a dark chuckle and Naruto glared at him before continuing on. "I'm going to make sure that we're always together. Team 7! With me and Sakura-chan…" He hovered over the dark-haired boy and stuck his tongue out. "…and even you, bastard."

Sasuke blinked, covering his surprise and turning to the side. "Whatever loser."

Sakura grinned slightly, tracing invisible lines through the heavens with her finger.

"Team Seven—Forever." She closed her eyes, smiling at the boys. "Right?"

"Yeah!" Naruto punched the air and barely there but still _real_; she heard the faintest,

"Ah."

Next chapter: _It seems like everyone is trying to get her to choose between Love or love; but Sakura doesn't understand why she can't have both._

I feed on Reviews. Please don't let me starve.


	2. Love, love

Little Moments: ATeam Seven Drabble Collection

by Japyra

Ratings:K-M

Love, love

K for vague sexual references

* * *

"To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides."—David Viscott

* * *

It first began with the sideways glances and quickly cutoff whispers. But Team Seven was far too used to rumors and disapproval to care much. 

(After all, when one is a demon and the other is a traitor, there is very little popularity between the three)

And then it was off-handed jokes by rather tactless and fearless shinobi.(Like Kiba. Or Kankuro.) Little leads disguised in barking humor and asking a deeper question. But she just laughed back and responded wittily and the question went unanswered.

It was Ino her first demanded in answer in blunt fashion. She cornered her best friend at the flower shop one day, and amidst roses and sunflowers; it came out.

"Sakura, who do you love?"

Green eyes blinked in surprise and she straightened up from the arrangement of red-and-yellow she had been working on.

"What?"

The blond fumed, placing her hands on her hips. "You know! Which guy do you love? Naruto or Sasuke?"

An amused smile appeared on her face and emerald eyes danced with laughter at some private joke before turning back to the flower arrangement. "Both."

Ino threw her hands up in the air, giving an exasperated sigh. "I mean _Love_, Sakura! Not _love_, as in, really good friend you would go see a crappy movie for, but Love like; I would die for you. Sheesh, sometimes you are so slow!"

The kunoichi stuck her tongue out at the slow remark. "Well even when you put it that way, Ino-pig;" Her voice suddenly softened and the light of introspection danced across her cheek. "I would die for either one of them-so it's Love. But I eat that horrible ramen for Naruto because I love him, and I keep that burn salve stocked up because I love Sasuke... I love both of them, Ino. There really isn't a difference--Love and love;Sasuke and Naruto…" Chartreuse eyes turned to the sky, seeping in through the florist shop's windows, daintily stroking the scene in soft oranges and pale violets. "…They both mean so much to me. Naruto is my hope and Sasuke is my anchor. I really...I really don't know where I would be without them. _Both_of them. The three of us together. I can't explain it… It just_is_."

Ino lost her stance and let out an air of defeat with a toss of her hair. "I really don't understand you sometimes." A smile quirked at her lips. _But I'll always be backing you._

The pink-haired girl just laughed and they both returned to sorting between the crimson roses and bright sunflowers.

"Hey, Sakura…" Ino paused in their work again, a mischievous glint in her blue eyes that made the other girl sweat. "Even though you say that you love them equally… which one is better in bed?"

"Ino!"

….

"Well, Naruto is the more passionate but Sasuke definitely has a more refined style…"

* * *

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	3. Patience

Little Moments: A Team Seven Drabble Collection

By Japyra

Drabble 3: Patience,

Raiting: T for sexual implications

NarSak

* * *

_"It is very strange that the years teach us patience—that the shorter our time, the greater our capacity for waiting." –Elizabeth Taylor_

* * *

It was a side of him that she had never seen before; she realized.

The first time they met; it was she who approached _him_—the filthy, crying blonde boy with strange scratches (like whiskers on a cat, her five-year old self compared) that her parents had told her never to approach. He was sitting on their Academy swing by himself, tears pelting from the blue-on-blue depths of his eyes and sniffling in between the sobs. Somewhere deep, her childish heart broke and parents or no, she **had** to help this poor broken thing. He didn't hear her walk up; and didn't even notice her presence until a cool hand touched his forehead; swatting away at the mane of yellow hair. He looked up, and Sakura was met with the loveliest shade of blue she had ever seen.

"Are you okay?" She queered, tilting her head to the side and blinking her emerald eyes under the rosary bangs.

The boy seemed too stunned for a moment to respond; and she frowned, lining her smooth brow as she released his forehead and tugged at his ears. "Can you hear me?"

Coming back to attention, the blond nodded vigorously, looking down and swiping angrily at the tears. He hid his blush in his arm and mumbled into it. "I'm fine."

She stared at him. "But then why were you crying?"

The tips of his ears, she noticed, turned hot red and she felt him stiffen beside her. "I wasn't crying."

Sakura pouted, pointed to his hidden cheek. "Then what are _those_? Besides, I saw you crying."

"Was not."

"Was to."

"Was not."

"Was to."

Was not."

"Was to; infinity."

He growled at her, coming back from under his arms with an excited light across his face. "So what? I was just lonely, is that okay?!"

He yelled at her, and Sakura almost stumbled back at the surprising torrent of anger. He looked into her eyes however, and quickly returned to his former feeble position.

Swallowing her fear, Sakura took another step forward and then plopped down onto the dirt with a light sound, looking defiantly back up to the exasperated/confused blond.

"Now I'm with you," She explained to the boy with her chin struck high in the chair. "So you don't have any reason to cry because you're not alone anymore."

He stared at her and she looked away blushing due to the intensity and awe behind his gaze. It was as though he saw her as a goddess.

"So," She tried to divert his attention from her as she cleared her tiny throat. "What's your name?"

The boy grinned shyly. "Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki."

* * *

The first time they went out on a date, she asked him out.

He had been gone for almost three years, and surprisingly enough, Sakura found herself missing the blonde pest. She met him, she hit him, she smiled at him…

"Hey," She stopped suddenly, eying the falling sunset as Naruto shuffled impatiently on the spot, waiting for her to continue. "Do you want to go get ramen?"

Her teammate halted on the spot, turning on her with the slightest suspicion and an undaunted hope in his gaze. "Like… on a date?"

It wasn't quite what she had meant, but, Sakura thought. It isn't as though Sasuke was here to take her out and she couldn't very well have any sort of romantic relationship with another team. Besides, the longing in her eyes was making it very hard for her to say no.

She gave a gentle smile. "Sure."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, he had whisked her away from the bridge and towards the Ichiruka.

She even paid.

* * *

The first time they kissed, it was Sakura who started.

It was down pouring on the pair and she was leaning over him because the stupid brat just had to go and use the Kyuubi powers again. And he was simply coated with blood; the smell permeating even as the rain removed it in rivulets from his body. Her hands were shaking as she wavered the life-saving green luminosity above his form. Trembling from the cold, and the wet, and the pain from a rather large and unattended wound on her side—but above all, trembling in fear for life. _His_ life.

Because that nagging, no-brained twit was all she had left in her life to protect and losing him would be everything.

(And she just maybe, in spite of everything, is fallen in love with him)

Under her touch, his golden skin reformed and the angry red gashes stitched themselves back together. She was exhausted; from chakra use and the battle and being out in all of this freezing rain.

But she _had_ to save him.

And so she continued.

And quite suddenly, there was a calloused hand on her wrist, disrupting the constant flow of chakra and she was staring into infinite depths of azure.

"Naruto," The name caught in her throat and burned her eyes.

He gave a lopsided smirk. "Hey Sakura-chan; you look like shit."

Relief bubbled in her like a wave and she let out a half-strangled sob while punching him weakly in the shoulder. "Stupid jerk."

He gave a weak laugh-cough and struggled to sit up. Instantly, her trained mind switched back on and she used her arms to hover over him, pressing him firmly back down. "Naruto, what the hell are you doing?! You're not fully healed yet idiot so just—"

His hand, warm against the chill of her skin, trailed lazily across her cheekbone. A soft grin clung to his face and a quiet understanding lay just beneath his eyes when he met her gaze. "It's alright; Sakura-chan. I'm fine, so please…stop crying."

The kunoichi blinked in surprise. How he had managed to discern her tears from the rain she was still dripping from was miraculous; especially since she had even realized her own tears. She looked up, opening her mouth to respond and felt her tongue lodge in her throat. There was intensity in his face, and his fit physique was half-exposed, and the forever-smile toyed with his face. A terrible gratitude washed over her for everything he was in her life. For being. For living. For staying. For loving.

She kissed him.

Chastely at first, giving him the chance to run; and then suddenly he was stretched out on his back in the mud and she was holding herself above him with her forearms while his hands wrapped around her waist.

By the time they returned to Konoha, Sakura had a cold.

* * *

She was the one who decided their first time.

"Naruto," Her voice wavered slightly and she prayed that he wouldn't hear it. Of course he did, though, and stopped kissing her neck to give her _that_ look, the one that made her breath catch as she swam in seas of blue.

"Sakura," _–chan, _His voice was deep and serious and made her bare skin shiver. "Do you want this? Because if you don't I'll—"

He would do anything for her; she already knew. Anything she asked. "Idiot," She whispered in the dim light. "Of course I want this. I wouldn't have gone through all of the trouble of seducing you if I hadn't."

A shadow danced across his strong jaw and he gave a dark grin; lowering his head back down so his hot breath tickled her neck and when his tongue teased her skin; her heart stopped.

"As if you ever had to."

Green eyes widened fractionally, and then in another moment they dilated completely.

"N—NARUTO!"

* * *

He was carrying her home through the dregs of a storm when she first said it.

It was hardly a romantic setting—they had gone through a difficult, A-rank mission and split up to take down their target. Naruto barreled through the enemy nin with his own style—full of shouting and exclamations and improvisional jutsu. While Sakura battered through her foes with a chakra-infused punch.

They had a younger jounin on the team, a boy who had just made rank and was still a little naive and a little scared. So when he took a hit to the ankle, Sakura worked her way out of the frenzy to heal him.

And received two kunai in the gut for her efforts, courtesy of a specialized sniper on one of the roofs.

The pain was instant and strong; blinding her senses as she numbly pulled out the blades. The haziness that swam across her awareness made her curse.

Of course, they had to be poisoned.

And in the back of her mind she heard Naruto bellow and the sound of cracking bones soon followed.

Then, she passed out.

And now she was being carried out of the wet woods by him; still sluggish from the poison that her chakra had only managed to slow. Yet, even in the haze she was so very aware of him under her—the musk of his orange jacket; the warmth of another body…

"I love you." She whispered the words into his ear, her lips brushing the blond hair.

In response, his arms around her legs tightened and he gave a quick look at her out of the corner of his eye; giving her a tired smile.

"I know, Sakura-chan… So don't you dare die on me!"

Already sliding out of conscience, her thoughts spiraled away from her. She hadn't asked if Naruto loved her because; he always had.

It seemed as though he had always been here; ready to date her, kiss her, make love to her. He had loved her and stood on the precept of their lives, waiting for her to catch up. It seemed strange that Naruto, rambunctious, reckless Naruto, could ever have waited so patiently for this moment and yet…

"I won't. Promise."

_No more waiting. It's your turn to start, Naruto.

* * *

_

'Review ergo sum': I live because of reviews.

Preview: _Kakashi, Sasuke; and whom is stronger: The man tied down by broken chains or the boy who snapped his?_


	4. A Study on Generations

**Little Moments: A Team Seven Drabble Collection**

By Japyra

_A Study on Generations_

Rated: K

* * *

"_Transformation contains both change and stability, plurality and unity, movement and constancy. It has the nature of life, namely, to connect organically the polar opposites, the stumbling blocks of logic, and to unite them in an all embracing rhythm." (_**_Lama Govinda) _**

* * *

They're like a fractured mirror, he thinks. Two sides of the ying and yang; artfully drawn in shades and tones so that people can see the difference. And there is a difference, somehow, impossibly; he knows—standing in the sunset of Konoha, scant feet away from the large doors of Freedom. Of Exile—while_ he_ has already crossed them.

Hatake Kakashi kneels down in the earth beside the exit of his home; falling with the sun behind him. He closes and visible eye, breaths and looks; back to where the teacher ended and the student began.

He was born into the legend of White Fang; and there had never been another choice for the child but to be a ninja. He had never questioned it, never wandered down another life. At birth, Hatake Kakashi had silver hair and a set destiny.

He came into the pride of the Uchiha and was expected to uphold it as a male. They were police, elitist, experts; and there was no doubt in anyone's mind that Sasuke Uchiha would be raised as anything but a shinobi. He fell in love with his life as children do—the thrill, the competition, the success. Sasuke had been courted by fire before he even knew of flames.

Kakashi had lived in the shadow of his father—as a boy willingly, as a youth angrily, and as a man sorrowfully. His father the hero. His father the coward. Hatake Sakumo. But above all, he would never drown out that image from his eight-year old mind, coming home to find his father's dead body. He would never forget the sound of his heart breaking.

Sasuke existed within the darkness of his brother—as a child he was a worshipper, as an adolescent he was an avenger. And yet it was still that boy; than man, that his world revolved around. Uchiha Itachi. The prodigy. The traitor. His quietly-smiling older brother. What drove him mad in the middle of the night was not the blood that stained the wood or the looks from stranger on the street. It was a singular, burning question that fed his insanity_. Why?_

When the remaining Hatake met his genin team for the first time; he summed them up in a glance. A flashy braggart and playboy to boot, an all too-shy, too-soft girl, and a bright-haired sensei whose idealism could compete with the sun. And he was right…

When the surviving Uchiha boy first worked with his new cell, he sketched them out with a single, drawn out glance. A loud-mouthing idiot with all the forethought of a thunderstorm, a giggly, ostentatiously caring doll, and a one-eyed, perverted sensei. And he wasn't wrong…

…But after a mission went wrong/right and they were all banged and bleeding; and simply together in a quiet twilight; content, Kakashi added a few words to his mental listing of his teammates. Obito was a flashy braggart and a playboy to boot—but he was also doggedly loyal, and had the charismatic gift of knowing exactly what to say at that instinctively right time. And as Rin bandaged them up with her small hands, he knew that she still was an all too-shy, too-soft girl. And yet there was a gentle rippling effect about her, like she was the water they were drawn to sate their aching souls. And his bright-haired sensei whose idealism could compete with the sun could think the sky was red for all he could care because the man was _good_ in a way that beat out the blood.

…But after the accidentally A-rank mission with Zabuza and Haku; Sasuke reassessed his teammates. Naruto was indeed a loud-mouthing idiot with all the forethought of a thunderstorm; and yet he had a surprising sense of honor and an unyielding determination to fulfill it. And as Sakura let them lean on her shoulders because they were too battered to walk straight; he tried to tell himself that she was nothing more than a giggly, ostentatiously caring doll; but the soft fingers that held his forearm up and the silent, dry eyes made him realize that she was also fiercely protective of what she loved; and she loved life itself. And he was going to buy that one-eyed perverted sensei a whole pack of those orange books he loved(and blame it on Naruto) because he had a surprisingly amount of prowess and an even more shocking seriousness when it came to protecting his team.

And soon Kakashi was walking down this predestined path with a ragtag family that didn't have a drop of blood between them. Instead, they had something infinitely stronger. Because between Obito and Kakashi was brotherhood, the kind that competed, and rifled, and bickered—and banded together when it counted so that it was hard to tell when one of them stopped and the other one began. And Rin became the mother he had never remembered, the sister he never had, and that precious thing he had unknowingly been searching for all his life—something fragile and lovely to be protected. Even sensei became an almost-replacement father; one who wouldn't get scared of this life and who knew how to pick them all up again. Somewhere between aloofness, regiment, and grief—Hatake Kakashi found love.

As Sasuke wandered down the thorny back of vengeance, he would himself roughly yanked back and beaten over the head for getting lost by an irrepressible blonde. And eventually, Sasuke stopped minding. Because Naruto and he were soul mates—they were two orphaned boys born into the extreme conditioning of hatred and adoration, and it only made them feel so alone that they were drawn to each other like polar opposites of a magnate. Because Naruto was too thick to break, and too strong in his affections to betray. And while he was being (pushed, shoved, kicked) led toward the path of a Konoha chuunin by the boy, he watched the white hand of the girl. And despite his impatience and irritability and sheer malice towards her; that hand never wavered and he found himself walking towards those alluring green eyes with promises of tomorrow. And there was that stupid sensei who was something of a father-brother to his puzzle-piece team; who forced them together until they ran down each other's edges to fit, and knew just when to let them be. Somehow between betrayal, hatred, and loss—Sasuke Uchiha found love.

…and then it was gone.

Kakashi remembered when Obito died, not just in the way people recalled images and scenes; but in the hard lump that still grew in his throat and the burning sensation that frazzled his brain against the numb frost that crawled under his skin and made him spit his stomach out with fear. He remembered emotions with emotions within thoughts that wound back up as feelings he didn't have time to understand and that the only comprehensible surety he had was of _NO_. His heart broke a little more and when Rin left he couldn't find the strength in it to keep her here; in this killing town with him; and when the last piece of his (childhood, family, hope) team pat his head and flew into death, he heard her crying in his ears because he had forgotten how to shed tears anymore.

Because Sasuke realized, more than Itachi's return, more than his own weakness; that his team was mortal. That they weren't the god-given rulers who could charge in without a plan and come out ok. That Naruto could die and Sakura would have many times before. And he was frightened beyond anything he could remember. (Because he hadn't recalled being afraid for his clan—that was too unexpected) He felt the bile of fear slide down his throat and the seed nestle in his gut; and quick as a fly, Sasuke dispended of his bonds as quick as he had everything else that had ever oppressed him. It is easier to hate than to love; because there can be no loss in the former.

_And that is what it all comes down to, I suppose._ Hatake Kakashi wondered, opening his eyes to the night sky as he stayed kneeling by the gate. _Sasuke was smart enough to see that they were fallible and ran while I…_

The jounin gave a tiny smirk under the mask and looked up into the inky blackness, letting a cool wind ruffle his hair.

_I was the fool who choose love and that is why…_

His calves shifted and legs bent at his knee, torso rippling slightly with the pull as the forearms remained limp with the upward climb.

_I will never be able to escape as Sasuke did._

He stood facing the doors he knew he would never be able to cross; because he had chosen bonds over comfort and those chains around his heart still held him now to Konoha; while his student so-like-him-yet-not wandered freely with no attachments.

"Too bad Sasuke," Kakashi murmured to the air as it caught his breath. "I'll always be better than you now."

* * *

Recipe for Writing Success: Reviews, Comments, and a dash of Skill 


	5. Lunchtime

**Little Moments**: A Team Seven Drabble Collection

by Japyra

Drabble 5: Lunchtime

Rated: K

* * *

_"The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in." --Morrie Schwartz_

* * *

It shouldn't have been that big of a deal. It really shouldn't have. But it was, and there was nothing she could do about it. 

It was more than just a meal, it was a sign of their comradeship—the first breath of life into what would become a _team_.

At the time, it had seen nothing more than a half-hearted, self-serving gesture: In order to pass Kakashi's test, they had to work together. It would have meant failure for Sasuke and the arrogant Uchiha was ready to shove aside his pride (and his food) for his perfectionist streak. And Sakura, being the love-stuck full, had followed his lead and fed the blonde dobe. 

Sliding the dishes into her bag, the pink-haired kunoichi giggled into her hand at the memory. She secured the lids on everything, and then zippered up her standard red bag with a secret smile on her face.

_Who would have ever thought I'd be making lunch for those three…_

She shut the door behind her, making sure to turn the lock and slipped the key into her pocket; hoisting her cumbersome package across her shoulder and turning to walk down the streets. The afternoon sunlight warmed her skin and Sakura basked in nature's simple gift.

_Of course, _her thoughts wandered as her feet followed a steady path. _It wasn't always this easy._

Serving three very stubborn bachelors who refused to compromise in the slightest had brought her more than her share of frustrations, and their share of bruises—courtesy of one chakra-infused punch.

There was Naruto, who despite warnings from all of the medics in his life (_Tsunade, Shizune, Sakura_) continued to have a diet that consisted of ramen, ramen, and ramen. However, she had learned over time _(In that time where it was just her and him against the world and searching for the dark-haired boy nobody wanted them to find)_, that he didn't mind it too much if she added a few extra vegetables into the mixture. 

Then there was Sasuke, who refused to eat anything Naruto ate daily because it "obviously had detrimental side-effects" he had once said and it resulted in a quick brawl that Sakura had ended with too quick kicks to the stomach of each perpetrator. However, in the end, Sasuke was a creature of rigorous habit and would eat nothing except for tomatoes during lunch. _And she always had trouble saying no to him because they had paid so very much to have him back and she always felt like it was looking a gift-horse in the mouth to abuse him. _

And Kakashi. Kakashi, Kakashi, Kakashi. If there was an award for most infuriating person of all time; Sakura would vote for him hands down. Because for two years, _(While Sasuke had abandoned her and Naruto had left her behind; and no matter how hard she worked for Tsunade, or how many books she buried herself in, or how many days she worked with Ino in the flower shop—she was still unbearably lonely. And in those days, he was the only one to understand her) _she had cooked everything under the sun for that man and he would _never_ eat lunch. His excuses were as creative as though used for his chronic tardiness; and in the end she gave up and stopped bringing food and started bringing his favorite reading material; despite her own reservations about it. 

And no one would compromise.

So, Sakura stopped trying to make them because she loved them just the way they were. 

_Besides_, she giggled again; _my boys are absolutely terrible cooks_. 

Sudden footsteps and a shadow thrown into her path interrupted her private laughter; and when the medical nin opened her eyes; she met with a dark-eyed scowl as a familiar figure leaned over her. 

"What's so funny?" Sasuke demanded, hands in his pockets as he stood before her in the path. A few yards behind him, Naruto and Kakashi were finishing up a spar. 

Green eyes looked up at his, and Sakura laughed at his familiar scowl. _I'm happy you're alive. _"Nothing. You're just really cute today is all." She leaned up to pat his hair and earned a half-hearted glare in return. 

"Hn. Whatever." He replied, stepping forward and hooking and arm around the red band, seamlessly shifting the bag from her narrow shoulder onto his capable ones. 

"Sasuke, you don't have to—" She started, reaching up to stop him and only meeting his dismissive wave.

"That's my lunch you were about to drop." He turned away and Haruno could almost swear that she saw his ears going red as he muttered an explanation. "Idiot. If you carry so much, you're going to hurt yourself." 

His sincerity warmed her and Sakura latched herself onto his other arm, pulling him to rest of the team _(always guiding you to the path of happiness)_ with a sunshine smile on her face. 

"Oi! Sakura-chan's here!" Naruto called off the spar and got his face shoved in the dirt for his distractibility. 

One hand forcing the blonde head down, Kakashi gave them a wave. "Yo."

Eventually, they had all washed up and sat down around a picnic blanket with little jousting as Sakura unpacked the food.

"What kind is it today?" Naruto nearly jumped up and down in excitement. "I can't wait—Sakura-chan's ramen tastes the best!"

"I thought you said Ichiraku made the best, Naruto." His sensei liked to play with the poor boy's sincerity. 

His blue eyes went wide. "I-I do. But I like Sakura-chan's too. There both the best! It's like this—" He proceeded to make a series of hand gestures that made her laugh as she unwrapped the pale yellow bowl in her bag and handed it to him, still laughing slightly. 

"Don't worry about in Naruto. Just eat up, 'k?"

Eyes watering in melodrama, the Kyuubi took the bowl as though it was a sacred artifact—before shoveling it into his bottomless stomach.

"Pig." Sasuke commented, looking disgusted at his best friend. 

Uzumaki looked up from his food bowl and glared, attempting to say something with a full mouth. Before noodles starting flying, however, Sakura clamped his mouth down with one hand and passed the brooding nin a blue napkin, carefully wrapped around three plump tomatoes. He took it with a nod and she gave without expecting anything. 

And at the bottom of her bag, she pulled out a rolled-up orange book and walked the small distance to Kakashi, who smiled at her from under his mask and thanked her before opening the cover. 

By the time she came back over, Naruto had finished his first bowl and she poured him another from the large serving bowl.

"You're not eating?" Kakashi's question trailed across their foursome picnic and she had to resist a slight cringe when three pairs of eyes suddenly fixated on her. 

_Damn, he noticed._ The pink-haired medic gave an awkward chuckle and pulled on a stray strand of hair. "Well you see… haha… after I put the bowl of ramen and the package of tomatoes I also had to fit in the blanket and the chopsticks and spoons and all of that stuff; so I could barely squeeze your magazine in sensei, much less any other dish… haha…"

They were in her face instantly. 

"What! B-But, Sakura-chan, you just can't give up eating lunch for us!" The way Naruto yelled, inches from her face, one would have thought that she forgotten to breath, not lunch. "You're already getting thin because that old lady runs you dry and now you're not eating!" 

His panicked babble was cut off by Kakashi, who crinkled his eye in unhappiness and actually folded his book closed. "Naruto is right, Sakura. You need to eat."

She waved her hands dismissively. _So much for not worrying about it… "_Really you guys, I can just get something at home later it's—"

She was abruptly cut off by a piece of red fruit that had been shoved into her mouth at the end of a pair of chopsticks; being held by an irate-looking Uchiha.

"Just shut up and eat." He demanded in his no-arguing tone and she swallowed obediently.

"But—" 

He glared, brandishing his chopsticks menacingly as he shoved one of the tomatoes toward her. "Eat." 

In a flash, the yellow bowl, filled with a fresh serving of ramen, stood beside the fruit. She blinked. "Naruto…"

The fox-boy winked. "The bastard's actually said something smart, you need to eat. Don't worry about us, Sakura-chan! This way, we have an excuse to come over for dinner tonight!"

He grinned cheekily and earned a hard thump on the shoulder; but she was still smiling. "We'll just see about that."

And she sat there, slurping on ramen and chewing on a tomato—watching as Naruto picked a fight with Sasuke and he retorted with snappish remarks and Kakashi leaned against the nearest tree, engrossed in his book and at once actually relaxed. These people… her team… her boys…And at that moment, her heart filled with a perfect love that was as warm as the sun that stroked her skin.

_Hmm… I wonder what I should make for dinner tonight..._

* * *

_A/N: Yes, I was making dinner when the plot bunny snuck into my head. (And no, it was a vegetable stir-fry, not tomatoes or ramen)_

**Preview:**_ Sequel to Patience, Waiting: Because it's her turn to wait for him; and he deserves all the time he needs. _

_Reviews add another ingredient to the pot of happiness___


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